Sydney, Aug 7 :The paedophile son of an Indian diplomat, who was jailed for a decade in Australia last year, has appealed the sentence “as too harsh”, media reported Thursday. In September last year, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Supreme Court sentenced Navin Edwin, 34, to 10 years and eight months in prison with a non-parole period of six-and-a-half years for a series of offences against three minor girls between 2009 and 2010, The Canberra Times reported.

Edwin’s counsel appealed the sentence to the ACT Court of Appeal claiming the jail term was “manifestly excessive”. Edwin will be eligible for parole in March 2017 and faces deportation on completion of his sentence. During the court proceedings Thursday, Edwin’s counsel Shane Gill contended that the jail term imposed on the child predator had been a harsher penalty “than could properly be imposed”.

In response, Canberra prosecutors opposed the appeal, arguing that the applicants had not established a case that showed the sentence had been “excessive”, the report said. The prosecution said the different penalties for similar offences had been due to victim’s requirements to give evidence in court. In separate trials in May-June last year, the court found Edwin guilty of 17 offences, including producing and possessing child pornography, acts of indecency and child grooming.

Edwin contacted one of his victims via instant messaging, who later reported this to the police. Police found home-made child pornography stored in electronic devices at his home. Edwin said the pornography was part of his medical research and an art project. During last year’s sentencing, the court said that Edwin had lied shamelessly under oath and continued the pattern of dishonesty.